So recently I've been feeling like I'm out of shape. Mostly due to a rib fracture/separation I kept aggravating and multiple separations of my shoulder, both caused by BBJ (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu). I had to let them heal and during the time I did NO exercise at all. This caused me to lose weight....I think I was down to like 150lbs. Maybe even a bit below that. I've been going back to BJJ and Muay Thai again but I haven't been lifting any weights. So I wanted to start again. Now into the main part of my post....lol.

A couple of months ago my brother told me he was making copies of something called P90X. I was like....wtf is that?? He's like..."you've never heard of it?"...and proceeds to tell me how it's this amazing exercise program and that people get great results from it. I did a bit of research and found some pretty amazing result photos etc. These weren't just young men/women in their late teens early twenties either....some were like in their 40's, 50's, which always impresses me more. I know that results like this aren't always typical and it depends on how much effort you put into it....but it was still impressive.

To make a long story short...I got my hands on a copy and just tried the first DVD today. Which consists of an hour long "Chest and Back" series and something called "Ab Ripper X" which makes you do 300 reps of different ab exercises in 15-20 min or so.

All I can say is "WOW". If you put forth the effort and use the right amount of weight/reps it is a KILLER work out. If you're in decent shape I recommend giving it a try. All you need are some dumbells or resistance bands, a pull up bar, chair and a mat for yoga/abs etc. That's it!





Check out the site for more info. You can also find torrents for it but that would be wrong I tell you....WRONG!!! *cough cough*

http://www.beachbody.com/product/fitness_programs/best_sellers/p90x.do

You can also find a lot of videos on YouTube, with people video blogging about their results.


Anyways...the reason for this post is mostly so I know when I started. Hopefully I can keep it up!

So I've been messing with my desktop a bit and here's what it looks like right now.




Wallpaper is Jason Brooks vector artwork.

Sidebar running Clocktopia, Everest Ultimate, CPU Monitor, Network Monitor, Slideshow, PostIt notepad, Logitech Wireless Mouse monitor, Gmail checker.

Top dock is Rocketdock (very nice dock program....you should really check it out as it's FREE!)
http://rocketdock.com/

Bottom dock is ObjectDock (also a nice dock program....free for the basic)
http://www.stardock.com/products/ObjectDock/

The CD Jacket is from CD Art Display (program that links to music players like iTunes and displays the cover art/song info on your desktop)
http://www.closetosoftware.com/?s=cdartdisplay

Most of the icons are custom as well.

The docks are really cool. Completely customizable. They both accept png files as icons. If you check out the applicable site, they each have a video of what the docks look like in action. Both are free.

For those that like the look of Leopard, you can get a lot of the same features using these docks. I have it setup with the "stacks" docklet and I also have Windows Virtual Desktops for those that like the "Spaces" feature in Leopard.

Why go through all this when you can just get a Mac you ask? Well...I don't really like Macs all that much. They're more expensive than PC's. The hardware is older (CPU, drives, etc). You can't really customize them like PC's. Not as much software/games. The list goes on.

They DO look slick though. Simple sleek design. Their OS is nice as well. I love the Time Machine feature on Leopard even though you can pretty much do the same thing on Vista. It's much slicker on Leopard though.

Anyways....if anyone has any questions on how to set anything up just ask and I'll be happy to help.

I love this show! Loved it since the first season, but this season my choices for favorite dancers are a bit different. First season my favs since the beginning were Blake and Nick. Second season was Travis and Allison, and the third season was Danny. I liked others as well....and there were some "favorite" performances that I liked that didn't include my favs (dancers) but....on the whole...these picks almost always KILLED IT on stage.

As you can see...my picks are technically sound dancers with training in contemporary or ballet. Maybe because both my parents were dancers...and I grew up watching things like the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (two dancers being family friends/students of my dad), the American Ballet Theatre as well as the companies my dad danced for Jo Jo's Dance Factory.

I loved people like Dominic/Ryan/Hok but it's hard to fake technic. Most of the time it looked awkward when they were out of their element. Not ALWAYS....but most of the time.

THIS year though. WOW.

Pair #1 is Mark (who I didn't like in the auditioning process) and Chelsie (a ballroom dancer).







Pair #2 is Joshua (a HIP-HOP dancer that has an amazing sense for dance. hard to believe that he hasn't had formal training) and Katee (a contemporary dancer).







These two pairs are KILLIN IT no matter what is given to them. In this show it can be "luck of the draw" with who you get as a choreographer but for these two pairs it doesn't seem to matter. Their performance level is really high. It's a pleasure to watch them dance.

In addition, with having Shane Sparks judging ABDC, it's nice having Tabitha and Napoleon stepping in and choreographing some great routines for hip-hop.

Ok...so I haven't posted in a while. I figured I might as well start again. Yeah...I've said it before so who knows if this will last? lol

Anyways...I've recently been upgrading my PC. Ordered a few things and had some issues with a graphics card I got. I'm kinda getting off track here but I RMA'd it twice and decided on getting a refund. Ordered another card from a different company and was expecting to receive the item via UPS today. The tracking showed "out for delivery" until around 5:30PM, when the status had changed to "delivered".

"Ok...." I think to myself, "They must have delivered it to my neighbor or something." Which is stupid since I was home at the time of delivery.

I check to see who signed for it and it says "Lopez". There's no Lopez in my building.

So I call up UPS and it's of course automated. I say "customer service" right away because these systems tend to recognize that and patch you through. The robotic woman on the other end of the phone informs me that she'll patch me through to a customer service rep only AFTER I've gone through the automated system first.

"Ok...." I think to myself yet again. I go through the whole "track a package" voice menu system, inputting my tracking number etc. I'm informed that it has been delivered to (some random address) and was signed for by "Lopez".

"WHAT????!!! That is NOT my address!!"

I finally get through to a customer service rep and they tell me, "Yes, it says in our system that it was delivered to (random address) even though it was supposed to be delivered to (my address). I'm sorry for the inconvenience. I'll contact the delivery person and have them contact you within the hour."

Of course an hour goes by with no contact. I call again and they tell me that he should be calling any minute now and if they send a new message out now, I wont be contacted until Monday. Apparently, after 7PM they stop responding or something...and it was now 7PM. They tell me to call back at 8PM again if I still get no call and they'll send another message out to the local UPS station.

NOTHING. So I call again and they inform me that I shall NOW be contacted by Monday morning.

Is it just me or is this ridiculous? So now this rather expensive piece of computer hardware is sitting in some random persons apt. If UPS goes back on Monday to retrieve the item....how likely is it that I'll get something more than an empty box?? How do you deliver an item to a completely different address with a completely different name????

*pulls at hair*

I'm not saying FedEx is any better either. Someone I know ordered an expensive laptop (Alienware) and FedEx delivered it to her neighbor....in Harlem. Needless to say...when she got her package from her neighbor and opened it up, there was nothing inside.

This isn't the first time this type of thing has happened to me either. About a year ago I ordered an LCD monitor that somehow got LOST along the way. UPS tracking shows it reaching NYC and then NOTHING. It just drops off the face of the earth. I call UPS and they tell me they can't find it, and that I need to contact the merchant so they can file a claim/investigation.

Ok...enough of my ranting. :P

*takes a DEEP breath*

I think I actually feel better getting all that off my chest. lol

Hopefully my next post wont be so negative. :P

I don't think I ever posted about this but....my dog Crystal passed away 2 years ago and my cat Misty passed away earlier this year. T_T

Anyways...it was sad not having any animals in the apt. anymore, so yesterday I went down to the shelter to see some cats. The shelter that I went to isn't a "non-kill" shelter and I felt sorry for so many of the animals there. Of course all the puppies and kittens get adopted first...because that's what everyone wants. The adult cats and dogs aren't so lucky.

In the adult section I found two special cats. One was a 2 year old Russian Blue mix....he'd already been there a week which is quite a long time at one of these shelters. He had been surrendered to the shelter by the owner. The other cat was a 10 month old stray. From the markings I'd say maybe an Egyptian Mau mix? He has a combination of stripes and spots, and has the "worried look" that Egyptian Mau's tend to have. He was found protecting a litter of kittens.

I was only planning on taking home one...but I felt so bad for them I decided to take them both. For $35 each...they get spayed/neutered, they get a combination booster shot, and microchipped. For an additional $20 you can get a blood test done for FIV/FELV.

They had surgery earlier today and I picked them up around 5:00PM. The Russian Blue is a bit shy, but the other cat is crazy!! At first he didn't wanna get out of the carrier he was in (a bag type), but once he got out he was running around, exploring the whole apt. He's also very friendly and follows me around...jumping on my lap and nuzzles/licks my hand. Even right now...as I type this, he's on my lap following the mouse movements on the screen swatting at it. lol I have to keep pushing him off the keyboard.

The Russian Blue is also friendly but he's nowhere near as hyper. I think they'll both do well here. =) Anyways...here are the few pics I was able to get from them. They just don't sit still long enough. The flash also blinds them and they blink...so I can't get shots of them with their eyes fully open. :P Maybe I can try again tomorrow.



I haven't named them yet but here are some ideas I had for them.

Pair names
====================
Rythem(for the Mau)/Blues(for the Russian Blue)
Magic(for the Mau)/Voodoo(for the Russian Blue)
Yoda/Vader/Kinobi
Aesop/Fable
--------------------
Single names
====================
Crash
Chance
Nimbus
Karma


Any suggestions are welcome!! =) Or you could just tell me your favorites from the ones I have here.

So I was a bit bored and decided to take some new pics. It's been forever...I know...which is weird since I used to be a complete camera whore back in my Asian Avenue days. :P

Part of the reason, I guess, is because I've been trying to get back into decent shape. It's a good measuring stick. Of course that might just be an excuse for me to put up a nekki pic. Only ONE this time though!!! LMAO The other reason is because I messed around with my hair color again. Half blonde half red. =)

So without further ado......

Just posted another vid on YouTube...lol. It's interesting watching yourself doing something, regardless of what it is. Dancing, singing, walking...whatever...it's always different than how you perceive yourself.

I've been too lazy to actually upload a video...plus I couldn't decide what to do...dance, sing, strip j/k. lol Actually....I really WAS having trouble deciding. I DID do a dance video on LJ a looong time ago...so I was thinking of doing one on YouTube but this is what I did instead. Hope it's not too boring. lol Maybe I'll do dance vid next time. :P



If you want to stop by, my username on Youtube is aznlion3. :)

Kristy and I being stupid at the Natural History Museum in NYC...



Click on the pic and follow the clues to get to the Holiday Greeting!!
hint : it's similar to the notpron riddles

For those that don't know about notpron. It's a riddle on the internet...dubbed the "Hardest riddle on the internet". Started by a guy in germany named David Munnich. Anyways...I've been hooked on it lately. It's a lot of fun. Out of 6720377 visitors who've tried to solve it since August 2004...only 82 have reached the end. Anyways...for those interested... click me!

Happy belated Thanksgiving everyone!!

Now that that's out of the way...lol...onto the gadgets.

I was planning on getting a new phone and I wanted the W900 from sony ericsson (which isn't really out yet). It's a walkman phone (like the w800) similar to the S710a (in design). The w900 has a swiveling keypad form factor with automatic rotating effect, 2.2" 320x240 (QVGA) 262k color TFT screen, 2megapixel camera, video recording, bluetooth, infrared, Fast Port, takes Memory Stick PRO Duo (2gigs currently available and up to 4gb in the future), 470mb internal memory, Stereo Handsfree with remote, Radio FM with RDS, 40-tone polyphonics, etc.

Here's a link to the official product page for those interested.

Official Product Page

Since it's not out yet...and I wanted to switch service providers...I got the black Razr. Free with rebate and came with a free bluetooth headset. ^_^ Being a gadget freak...and not willing to leave it as is...I modded it.

So my Razr NOW has the following....

Flex version-SE8615MBXXH1121
S/W version-R374_G_0e.42.0DR
Custom startup and shutdown animation
Custom startup and shutdown sound
Custom outer screen when open
Custom skin
Video unlocked (so I can record video)
Speaker phone stays on when closed
Louder volume in earpiece and speaker phone
Multi-letter search in phonebook

I think that's about it. lol Anyways...I figure it'll hold me over till the w900 comes out. :)

Speaking of gadgets and electronics....I went to the after Thanksgiving sale that they have at Best Buy and Compusa. Compusa opened at 11:59AM on THANKSGIVING!!! I didn't know till around 3am so by the time I got there...everything I wanted was sold out!!! Including a bluetooth headset for like...9 bucks...an external 160gig HD for 49 bucks...and like 40 DVD-RW disks for 4bucks or something? At least I was able to score some stuff at Best Buy....uncluding some decent DVD's for $3.99-$5.99 (like the Pianist and Shrek2) a 75DVD-R 25CD-R spindle for 2 dollars and something (got two of these actually...lol) a progressive scan DVD recorder for my TV for 49 bucks, and some other random stuff. The place was like a zoo. They had a desktop for $150!!! (sold out BEFORE the store opened because they hand out tickets for the really limited stuff) and a toshiba laptop for $347 (also sold out before they opened).

Must...get....more....stuff!! lol

XBOX 360 here I COME!!!